delicious
by yendyswong
Summary: An ice cream is no longer a mere dessert, it now has a history; an interesting history.
1. Vanille Intro

Ｄ．Ｅ．Ｌ．Ｉ．Ｃ．Ｉ．Ｏ．Ｕ．Ｓ

**Pairing(s): Nagihiko x Rima; Utau x Kukai; Amu x ???**

**Rating: K+**

**Warning: none**

**Summary: An ice cream is no longer a mere dessert, it now has a history; an interesting history.**

****

**Chapter 1**

**Vanille Intro**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any Shugo Chara! Characterssss~.. And part of the storyline comes from a story which I didn't create, of course.**

**A/N: Slight ooc, but what is a story without ooc anyway XD? Hajimemashouka?**

****

The day had just begun yet the laughter of the sweet, innocent children had filled the corners of the neighborhood. Their laughter was a sign of a happy neighborhood, and it was the pride of their families.

Under the big oak tree, Mashiro Rima sat down alone, enjoying the sun on her face, merely sitting down and enjoying the view, she didn't really find pleasure in it, it was just to show people that she was 'mature'; what a show-off. She saw a group of boys, running around and playing tag and she noticed one of them glanced at her from time to time. She was pleased of course, _"He must be thinking how mature I am!" _she thought to herself.

Not very long later, the boy approached her with his fellow friends." You wanna join in?"

"No thanks!" she smiled.

"It's alright, you don't have friends, and so I thought you'd want to join in…" he persuaded her again.

"I have a lot of friends! I just wanna see the sky!! Stop bugging!" she said annoyed.

"Fine! I was nice to you but you're mean! I hope you have no one!!" the guy said and left with his bunch.

Rima was irritated yet sad that the thought of her alone was quite saddening, so she decided to look around for her friends. She'd been turning the small park in the middle of the neighborhood, but no one was in sight; not even Amu, her best friend, was there.

Then, in her mind, she saw herself alone, with no one to play and talk with, she saw herself sitting by the sidewalk, no one caring for her lonely state. She started crying alone as she didn't hear anymore of the boys' footsteps and laughter.

"What's the matter?" a little boy poked her arm softly.

"I… I!!" she cried louder, making the boy panic.

"H—Hey! Listen! If you stop crying and smile, I'll give you an ice cream!" the boy tried to bribe his way through Rima.

"Ice cream..?"

Immediately, her face lightened up and she gave a broad smile, the boy smiled along and reached into his pocket for the ice cream he had just took out from the fridge to enjoy. He might be contemplating inside, but he certainly couldn't let a girl cry outside, alone.

"There, much better!" he said cheerfully. "You're Mashiro Rima right?"

"Yep! What's your name?" the girl broadly smiled.

"The name's Fujisaki Nagihiko."

"Okay, Nagihiko-san! The girl merely giggled. "Let's play! Let's play tag, I'll catch you!"

"O..kay…" the boy said, amazed at the two different 'modes' the girl had.

So the little boy ran to the middle of the park, while Rima tried hard to catch up with him. She ran as fast as she could but she tripped and fell when she was just inches away.

"Hey, hey, don't cry again! It's OK! Where's your house? I'll carry you back home!" he smiled.

"The yellow house over there… It… It's like I'm being poked by a needle!!" she tried to hold her tears back, using all her energy to smile.

"It's OK, it's OK, I'm bringing you back home OK?"

"OK…"

**11 years later…**

"Rima!!"

"Amu!! It's been so long!"

"I know! I remember the last time we met was around 11 years ago, how big you've grown! You're so beautiful!! You've changed so much!" Amu squealed in delight, it's been so long since she saw her previously known as 'bestest' friend.

"I know!! I hope you haven't changed much though…"

"Well, duh! You know me, I hate significant changes. Do you still have that ice-cream fetish? I remember you going all 'Yahoo!' for ice cream when we were young…"

"Ice cream is the best!!" Rima giggled. "Vanilla, preferably layered with caramel and on the outer part, almond chunks!"

"Yes, your highness!"

The two laughed and caught up with each other, just like old times. They giggled and chatted, they found some parts just never changes in a person, and some undergo drastic changes. But for sure, they were still the two little girls called Lima and Amu, the best of friends.

"So, are you with someone?"

Rima looked at her friend. "No, not really, …maybe."

"Awwww… You're with that boy from long ago! What's his name, Nade? Negi? Na—"

"Nagihiko" Rima reminded her friend.

"Right, Nagihiko! He was real good friends with you right? You've turned into lovers haven't you?" the pink haired girl nudged her friend.

"L--Lovers?" Rima blushed a bright pink. "That's a passionate way to put it I guess… But, anyway, what about you??!"

Amu looked down."We're… engaged…" she said softly.

"ENGAGED?!"

"…Just kidding." Amu smiled. "I'm kind of with umm, someone. I don't think you remember him, I'll reintroduce you two sometime."

"Oooohh… Someone _**special **_indeed…" Rima whispered.

"Kyaaa--!" Amu screamed out as she feel from the bench.

***

Rima went on to the school's garden alone since Amu had to go find her brother[1], she and her brother had made plans for their mother's birthday. Rima was walking towards the large Oak tree when Nagihiko came out of nowhere.

"Hey, Rima!" the boy smiled sweetly to the small, blonde young lady.

"Uhh, hi, Nagi. Where were you?" Rima looked at his beautiful yellow-tinted eyes.

"I was with Kukai until his blonde stole him away; then I saw you walking by alone. I thought you were meeting your old friend?" Nagihiko brushed off a stroke of Rima's hair from her face.

"Yeah, I was. Then she had business to attend to." Rima explained.

"Well, alright. I'm going to go back to class, alright? Later tell me more about this friend of yours, she seems interesting." Nagihiko smiled.

"_I didn't tell you anything about her yet, how do you know…?" _Rima thought to herself."Alright."

Nagihiko leaned forward and kissed the girl's forehead which made her blush deeply. He had never done this before, even after 2 years of dating. Rima felt her blood rush up all the way to her brain, causing her to lose balance and fall over.

"Hey, are you alright?!" Nagihiko helped her up. Rima brushed some leaves off her hair and stood back up.

"Yeah, I—I'm fine! You go ahead, I'm fine."

"Okay… See you later…" he looked back as he went off, making sure she was absolutely a-ok.

Rima thought of the previous 'event' and touched her forehead, and then she smiled to herself. _"Nagi-baka…"_

- End of chapter 1

**a/n**

**[1] – In this story, Amu has a brother. A surprise may appear, I haven't decided on this yet. *evil laughter***

**And btw, if you like it, could you please give a review? Just need something to keep me going :)**


	2. Caramel layered Memories

Ｄ．Ｅ．Ｌ．Ｉ．Ｃ．Ｉ．Ｏ．Ｕ．Ｓ

Pairing(s): Nagihiko x Rima; Utau x Kukai; Amu x ???

Rating: K+

Warning: none

Summary: An ice cream is no longer a mere dessert, it now has a history; an interesting history.

****

**Chapter 2**

Caramel-layered Memories

***

Disclaimer: I don't own any Shugo Chara! Characterss~.. And part of the storyline comes from a story which I didn't create, of course.

A/N: Slight ooc, but what is a story without ooc anyway XD?

***

Rima walked out of the school's main building with a vanilla ice cream she got from her beloved Nagi. _"It's been so many years… But this ice cream brought us together, didn't it?". _She took a bite and then—

"Rima!!" a voice rang out. The blonde turned to look at the figure running towards her.

"Oh, it's you Amu." Rima took another bite of her ice cream.

"Oh? Were you expecting someone else? Nagihiko perhaps?" Amu smirked at the petite figure beside her.

Rima slightly blushed and completely ignored what Amu said. Even though it's been 3 years since Nagihiko asked her to be his girlfriend, she would react the same way whenever someone would place her name next to Nagihiko's.

"Hey, Amu-chii! Hey, Rima-tan!" Yaya greeted. "Why's Rima-tan's face so red…?"

"Because I just teased her of being Nagihiko's g-i-r-l-f-r-i-e-n-d." the pink-haired girl winked at Yaya.

"Rima is with Nagi—???!!!" Rima quickly sealed the mouth of her underclassman with her hands. "Yaya, I swear, I could kill you--!"

"Now, now, Rima… Let's be calm…" Amu caressed her friend's back, soothing her anger.

***

"Ah, Rima!" Nagihiko caught up with her from the end of the hallway.

"Na—Nagi!" Rima wasn't sure how to react since Amu was next to her.

"Hinamori Amu." Amu invited Nagihiko to a handshake as he approached.

"Ah, so you're the Amu Rima's been mentioning a few times..." Nagihiko shook hands while Rima remained stoned. "Nice to meet you."

"Same here." She placed her hands on her hips.

"_Na—Nagi! What do you want??" _Rima whispered into his ears.

"_I'm just making friends! Oh, by the way, she's cute." _Nagihiko gave a thumbs-up.

"CUTE?! What do you mean by cute?!"

"I mean you picked a good friend, anyway, I have to go. I just wanted to say 'hi'. I'll see you later!"

The boy ran off, actually, backing off to be exact; he didn't want Rima to scold him, after all. Actually, he's going to go through a **LOT **worse than what he was supposed to get, because he left blushing Rima with a devilish smiling Amu. Rima didn't even bother to look, she could feel a bad aura coming from Amu.

"Don't say ANYTHING!!" Rima ran off, leaving a still smiling Amu.

"CUTE!! You two are very cute!!!" Amu shouted at her friend.

***

After school, nightmare-school was what Rima called it, was over, she headed towards the garden as always, walking around the beautiful patch of prairie gentian or commonly known as Lisianthus. She often wondered why she waited here every day for Nagihiko to come. It was kind of boring looking at the same flowers for a quarter of an hour every single day. Sometimes she took it as a must-do thing, other times she thought of it as a vow, but usually, she just thought of it as an activity to kill time.

Which got her thinking, was what she had with Nagihiko a vow? Or is it something she must do? Or maybe, it was just something she agreed on to use up her time? She wasn't sure, so she knew she had to ask Nagihiko when he comes. _"It could be one of my needs, or is it my wants?" _Rima debated in her mind.

After, she decided to just sit down and rest her head on the table in the middle of the garden. Slowly, she drifted into a nap…

"Rima—" Nagihiko smiled as he saw the girl sleep in the middle of the garden.

He didn't know what to do, wake her up? Or let her sleep? It was a tough choice since one mistake could lead to one hell of a scolding. He didn't like to get scolded at, especially since it **is** Rima. Then he had an idea.

"Rima, get up~…"

"Wha--? Why'd you bother my sleep?!" she fretted.

"Oh come on, I couldn't let myself watch you sleep until late evening. You were cute and all but you have to go home, otherwise your parents would lecture me."

"C—Cute?!"

"Yep, I even took a picture…"

"GIMME THAT PHONE!!!" Rima tried to snatch away Nagihiko's phone.

After scolding Nagihiko, Rima finally calmed down. _"I miss this…" _she thought to herself. _"It's been so long since we spent time together…"_

"What's the matter?" Nagihiko gave a concerned look.

"…Nagi… We haven't been able to spend time together ever since so long. I miss this…"

"…I'm sorry."

"…Yeah, you better be. I want it to be like before, when we were eating popsicle by the beach, eating vanilla ice cream with strawberry in the park… Heh, it's funny that whenever we went out, we always had ice cream…" Rima smiled. "I miss all that…"

"…Me too…" Nagihiko looked up to the sky. "I want to do this more often too, after all, we decided on this by following our hearts. Despite the hardships, we broke through… That's what this is, isn't it? This is you and me, together, we want to be together. This is what we chose, this is what we want…"

"I see..." she didn't need to ask him, she got the answer. " Let's go… Because you were being mean, you have to treat me to an ice cream."

"AGAIN?!"

-End of chapter 2

a/n

Yayy~.. Chapter 2 is done! I've decided on the surprise, and it should appear by chapter 3 :D

And btw, if you like it, could you please give a review? Just need something to keep me going :)


	3. The Strawberry flavored Afternoon

Ｄ．Ｅ．Ｌ．Ｉ．Ｃ．Ｉ．Ｏ．Ｕ．Ｓ

Pairing(s): Nagihiko x Rima; Utau x Kukai; Amu x ???

Rating: K+

Warning: none

Summary: An ice cream is no longer a mere dessert, it now has a history; an interesting history.

****

**Chapter 3**

Oh, the Strawberry-flavored Evening

"So let's go to the beach!!"

"Heh?!" everyone looked at Yaya.

"What? It's a good idea! Kukai could bring Blondy—"

"U-t-a-u." Kukai corrected.

"Yeah, like I said, Blondy… Then, Amu-chii could bring her's—"

"Her's--?!" Amu blushed.

"Yep! Then Rima-tan could also… y'know."

"What about you Yaya?" Kukai winked.

"Of course, I'll bring mine too~!"

"HEH!?! You have one?!" Amu said amazed at Yaya.

"Uh-huh! And where's Tadase?"

"He had to leave early, but I'll tell him about the plan." Kukai gave a thumbs-up.

Summer holiday was beginning and yet this group of friends was already so noisy. Kukai, Yaya, Amu, and Rima had gathered in the library to discuss their little adventure.

"So, make sure everyone will be there!" Yaya closed up their meeting.

"Yaya… What if I won't go?" Rima asked.

"You have to go!! With Nagihiko-kun!" Amu said.

"Yeah, Rima-tan. This is a must!"

"What if Nagi can't make it?"

"He will." Kukai winked again. "I'll make sure he'll come."

Rima sighed. This was going to be a loooong summer. Three days by the beach, a 2-hour trip going there, who knows what could happen?

"Souma Kukai! Is Kukai here?!"

"? Utau?!" Kukai looked around and whispered in her ear. "What do you think you're doing?? This is a LIBRARY."

"Are you lecturing me?" she gave an eerie atmosphere.

"No, no, no! Just, sit down with us…" he brought her by the table. "What's the matter?"

"Hey, Pink, Blonde, Brown." She greeted as she circled around to sit next to Kukai.

"Hey Blondy" they all greeted back.

"So, Kukai, did you plan anything for summer?" the tall blonde focused on the boy.

"I was just planning to ask you to come with us to the beach, if your schedule is clear."

Utau quickly took out her agenda. "When?"

"Around next Wednesday, so it'll be a long weekend."

Utau saw a whole week full of activities in her agenda, then she glared at it for awhile.

"U—Utau…?"

Utau took a pen and crossed the whole week's agenda out. "I'll go!"

Kukai sweatdropped. "O—Okay… Don't force yourself—"

"I'm not forcing myself!"

"Th—Then it's decided!" Yaya said, still a bit freaked out after what Utau just did.

***

_Tuesday, XX-XX-XXXX_

_Dear diary,_

_It's me again. Tomorrow we plan to go the beach. I'm so excited! But then, I'm also scared… Why? Because I'm not sure if things will turn out as planned. I'll try my best though, I can't wait till tomorrow comes… I want to see what everyone brings, I want to see the sea, and swim! Though I'm not so sure I can… Anyway, I'll try to sleep now, good night~!_

***

"Rima!!"

"Hold on!" the girl shouted from her room.

After a few minutes, the voice called out again. "Rima!!"

"Hang on!!"

After 5 more minutes, "Ri—!"

"I'm coming, Nagi!!"

"Okay…"

After waiting for quite long, Rima finally came down. Wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a knee-length orange-colored dress.

"Ri—Rima… You look like the sun…"

"Rude!" she blushed. "Anyway, let's go!"

***

Kukai, Utau, Yaya and Tadase were the only ones who have arrived at the school's front gate.

"Yaya, where's 'yours'?" Nagihiko looked confused.

"Well…" she smiled innocently.

Kukai stepped up. "When she said she'll bring hers, she meant bring her swimming kit, which includes a pink float, pink goggles and such."

"Should've known…" Rima sighed.

"The only one who hasn't arrived is Amu-chan, right?" Tadase asked the rest of the group.

"Uh-huh. Ah, there she is!" Yaya smiled. "Amu-chii!!"

Amu came with a tall guy with ebony hair. "Hey, guys!"

"_Ooh.. Who's that??" _Yaya whispered.

"Ah, everyone, this is Ren. Ren nii-sama, this is Kukai, Utau, Yaya, Tadase, Rima, and Nagihiko." Amu showed him who was who.

"Hello." He greeted.

Utau smirked. "Brother complex, huh?"

"N—N—N—No!!" Amu blushed. "You're one to say!"

"I'm over him. Ah, sweet revenge…"

"Amu?! You like your b-r-o-t-h-e-r?!" Rima asked shocked. "Now that I think of it…"

**-flashback-**

"…_Just kidding." Amu smiled. "I'm kind of with umm, someone. I don't think you remember him, I'll reintroduce you two sometime."_

**-end of flashback-**

"You said you were 'kind of with, umm someone'!!" Rima pointed at her best friend.

"I—I did say that but it didn't mean that I **was** with him!"

"Amu-chan…" Nagihiko looked at her. "I'm shocked…"

"Nagihiko, you too?!"

"Well, shall we get going?" Ren asked.

"Alright, alright." Yaya said as they all got onto Utau's car.

"I'm driving!" Kukai said.

"No, no, no, I'll do the driving." Utau smirked.

"Oh, no…"

***

"UTAU!!!!!!" Kukai screamed.

"Hold on, I'm trying to drive here!"

"Take the left, TAKE THE LEFT!!" Kukai pointed out. "YOU WENT RIGHT?! I SAID LEFT!"

"I need silence!"

"HOW CAN THERE BE SILENCE WHEN YOU'RE DRIVING?!" Amu screamed from the back.

"Shut up!!"

"LEMME DRIVE, LEMME DRIVE!!" Kukai yelled.

"No, Kukai, let go!!" Utau yelled back.

"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!" everyone in the car was in for the ride of their lives.

***

"Land! Sweet, sweet land!!" Yaya ran out of the car.

"Oh, that is **so **dramatic…" Utau rolled her eyes.

Rima looked at Nagihiko, "Nagi…"

"I—I know… I don't think it's legal for someone to be alive after driving at that speed…"

Utau twitched, "Did you say something?"

"N—Nothing…" Nagihiko backed off.

"Did you see Amu back there? Holding onto Ren-onii-sama~.." Yaya nudged Rima while speaking in a hushed tone.

"Really?" Rima said amazed.

"REALLY."

The group went on down the small path that was supposed to lead towards the beach. It was quite a long path down and they reached a 2-way path.

"So, Utau, which way to your villa?" Nagihiko asked.

Utau had offered them to stay at her villa by the beach, it belonged to her father apparently.

Utau pointed to the northwest, "Do you see that mansion over there?"

"Yes, is that it?" Nagihiko saw the huge house.

"No, it's somewhere near it." Utau went on leading the way. "Follow me."

So they walked again, down another long path. It wasn't long before exhaustion started to overcome them. Everyone was complaining to Utau about how tiring this all was, and complaining to Yaya how silly the idea of this vacation was. Just then, Utau came to a halt.

"We're here." Utau looked at the group with a relieved grin.

There stood the villa, the beautifully white-painted villa with a water-fountain in the front yard, and the gate –still locked.

"Finally!! So, let's get this gate open!" Kukai dropped the luggage he was carrying, it was his and Utau's. And she brought 2 of them, how pitiful Kukai was.

"Yeah," Utau chuckled. "I don't have the key."

"...UTAUUUUUUUUU!!!!!"

-End of chapter 3

***

a/n

First of all, I'm sorry for those who waited so long for this.. I thought I had lost all hope in this buuut!!! I found some hope left :D

Surprise? Amu has brother-complex~

**Holic: *kicks Ikuto away***

**Ikuto: Hey, what have I ever done to you?!**

**Holic: Nothing! But who cares!**


	4. Dark Chocolate Disappearances

**Pairing(s): Nagihiko x Rima; Utau x Kukai**

**Rating: K+**

**Summary: An ice cream is no longer a mere dessert, it now has a history; an interesting history.**

A/N: HEY! My god. It's been, I don't know, years since I updated this, so my writing style is a bit different but I've decided to not leave you guys who actually read my story (YOU are awesome btw) hanging. I changed my name, I didn't know why I chose H0L1C as a name hahah. I'm the same person anyway. So yeah, Syd Nichols here :3 sososo.

_cutevampkitten03 rainbowmonkeycakes: it's because of you two that I decided to continue this. Thank you. I couldn't believe that anyone would read my story in 2012. Wow._

_tennie-chan09 Ice Amethyst 12 Chika Hoshi ThatGirl96 luv2sing27865 hopexescaliber RIMA X NAGIHIKO FOREVER Ikuto kitty Yoru is awsome: THANK YOU ALL :) So much. You have no idea how much._

_Genuine Sparklez wezzisaurusrex: SO SORRY for not updating for years :( Thank you very much though!_

Disclaimer: I don't own any Shugo Chara characters and that mention down there of a certain ice cream flavor from a certain game. All in good fun.

Well on to chappie 4!

**Chapter 4**

Dark Chocolate Disappearances

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" Kukai slumped on the ground. He was beyond tired. (After that crazy ride, anyone would be mentally exhausted, but coupled with carrying truckloads of things Utau probably wouldn't use during this trip on a 20 minute walk was the breaking point.)

At this point Yaya decided to go all berserk and whiny. "BLONDY! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING! ALL YAYA WANTED WAS A NICE TRIP TO THE BEACH WITH HER FRIENDS!"

"You don't get to go around accusing me of ruining your holiday, Brown! I provided the villa already, I never said I would provide the key!"

While Amu tried to calm Yaya down and Tadase was just standing there helplessly with Ren, Rima and Nagihiko were left speechless, watching chaos unfold before them.

"Nagi..."

"Hm?"

"Shouldn't we..." the little lady hesitated. "Do something about this?"

"We should."

After about ten more minutes of that chaos (which Rima and Nagihiko decided to leave alone in the end), one of the boys decided to step up and take charge. He kicked the gate wide open in frustration and exhaled heavily multiple times.

"K-Kukai..." Utau and the rest of the group were stunned. She snorted suddenly, then it bursted out into a laughter. "You have patience issues, baby." She grabbed one of her luggages with some effort and dragged it into the villa.

"Yaya wants food!" she trailed along Utau.

Everyone then went on into the villa and settled down. The girls took the rooms upstairs while the boys picked the rooms on the ground floor. They gathered back in the main living room before long.

Yaya looked at Utau with a displeased expression and Utau looked back at her indifferently. "Anyone have any food? This baby needs some pampering."

Nagihiko volunteered out of the blue. "I'll make some sandwiches. Who else wants some?" Upon getting a reply from everyone he said, "Shouldn't have bothered asking."

"Make me a tuna and egg sandwich!" Yaya went to mingle and bother Nagihiko.

"Ren nii-sama, would you like me to make you anything?"

"That would be great, thank you Amu-chan." he replied with a smile. Seriously, this dude is pretty handsome but in a dangerous way. There's more than what he's letting on... (Trust me, I am kind of afraid. A little bit.)

"Okay!" Amu's face brightened up and she went to Nagihiko.

"Kukai, want to go play soccer?" Tadase asked. This boy has been feeling a bit left out from just now.

"Sure! Let's go-"

"Kukai~ let's go to the beach." Utau winked at him. "While we have some time alone. If you know what I mean."

Kukai looked at Tadase and tapped his shoulder. "Next time, bro." He then headed off to the beach with Utau eagerly, (Don't worry it's rated K+, nothing mature is going on. Nothing _too_ mature at least.) leaving Tadase alone with his soccer ball.

"Did you say soccer?" Ren came over to Tadase. "Let's go!"

"Alright!" Tadase and Ren ran off outside to play, leaving Rima sitting on the living room sofa alone silently.

"Rima." Nagihiko called out. "Why are you sitting there alone?"

Amu also called out to her best friend. "Come on, might as well make some sandwiches."

"I'm pretty tired so I'll just sit here awhile." Rima said as she laid flat down on the sofa. She didn't take up much space, considering her small figure.

"Here." Nagihiko handed Yaya a sandwich and approached Rima. "Think this'll re-energize you?" He had a sea-salt flavored popsicle in his hand still fully wrapped and gave it to Rima.

She smiled then blushed. "You must think I'm a kid."

"No, not at all. After I'm done, let's go to the beach." He said as he walked back to the open kitchen area.

* * *

"Over here!" Utau called out to Kukai. She was knee-deep into the sea water and splashed at Kukai.

"Hey!" He splashed some water back at her and caught her from behind as she ran away. "It's been so long since we had time alone."

Utau looked back at him. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize."

"How can I make up for it?"

Kukai smiled. "Race me to that buoy, if you win I'll forgive you."

"Wha- That's so far away!" The buoy was about 3 miles away from where they were standing right now. "What if there are sharks?"

"I'll beat that shark up for trying to lay a hand on you." Kukai laughed. "Okay how about we swim to that building over there?"

"What is that building?" Utau wondered. "I don't remember that building."

"Well, let's go check it out!" He positioned himself in the water.

Utau took of her hoodie and threw it on the sand then did the same and counted. "3... 2... Go!" She swam ahead of him.

"Hey!" He swam hard, trying to catch up with her but she was one hell of a swimmer despite her seemingly frail figure.

It wasn't long before they reached the shore by the mysterious building with Kukai lying flat on the sand while Utau walked lifelessly behind. She slumped on the ground too, then slapped him on the back when she remembered that she lost to him.

"Ouch... Give me a break, Utau..."

She sighed and stood up. She looked at the abandoned shack that was so disheveled and seemed like it would collapse any time and felt drawn to it. She walked towards it somewhat unsure.

"Utau, where are you going...?" Kukai was still flat down. He glanced up and noticed something was amiss. He pushed himself up and saw that Utau was gone. "Utau?"

* * *

Nagihiko had finished making the sandwiches and had just dried his hands on a piece of cloth. Rima was ready to go and was waiting by the fountain near the front gate. She wore sandals and a short white summer dress but she insisted on wearing the hat she wore previously even though it made her look smaller. Nagihiko put on his sandals and was approaching Rima when Kukai came running.

"Utau!" He was out of breath.

"I thought she was with you?" Rima asked.

Nagihiko caught on quickly that something had happened. "What happened?"

"Guys, I can't find Tadase!" Ren came back also out of breath like Kukai. "We were just kicking a little bit and he went to get the ball and he didn't come back after a while. I looked around but I couldn't find him."

"Tadase too?" Kukai slumped on the fountain. "What to do... Utau..."

Yaya came out from the villa pulling Amu's arm. "Come on, Amu-chi! Huh? Is something going on?"

Rima gave a worried expression. "Utau and Tadase have gone missing."

"What?" Amu was shocked and went toward Ren. "You're okay, nii-sama?"

"We have to look for them. You girls should stay home." Nagihiko said.

Amu and Yaya nodded but Rima didn't. "I'm going with you."

Nagihiko wanted to tell her not to come with them but he knew she couldn't be persuaded. "You'll still come no matter what I say, won't you?"

"You know it." She smiled. "Amu, Yaya stay inside and lock everything. I don't think this is a kidnapping or anything but just to be safe, do it."

Amu held Ren's hand in hers then looked at Rima. "Be careful."

She went in with Yaya and locked the door, then proceeded to close the windows. When they heard the door click, the four outside headed out the gate and closed it.

"Here we go." Nagihiko said.

- End of chapter 4

A/N: I am having holidays soon so I will definitely give you another chapter by next week. Unless writer's block comes and nails me down... No, I promise I'll bring another chapter by next week!

Again, thank you very much for the people who are still reading this in 2012.

**Yaya: Why am I stuck in the villa with Amu? We're supposed to be adventuring together.**

**Syd Nichs: Yeah, well life sucks.**

**Amu: Don't take it out on us :'(**


	5. Almond and Things Better Left Unknown

Pairing(s): Nagihiko x Rima; Utau x Kukai

Rating: K+

Summary: An ice cream is no longer a mere dessert, it now has a history; an interesting history.

A/N: I've recently developed a dislike for Tadase I don't know why xD Again, to you who's reading this right now, you. are. awesome.

rainbowmonkeycakes: if anyone should be touched, it's ME. Again, thank you.

cutevampkitten03: I promise I will so you'll have to love me~ heheheh. Thank you :)

**Chapter 5**

Almond and Other Ingredients You Don't Want to Know

The sun was beginning to set and Kukai, Ren, Nagihiko and Rima were walking towards the beach where Utau was last seen. They'd decided to look for Utau first since the beach was nearer. Or was it because they thought her to be more important to find? Well, whatever the reason was Tadase wasn't in their minds at the moment.

"So you last saw her by that shack?" Rima asked Kukai.

"Y-Yeah." Kukai looked depressed but had some fight in him. "I shouldn't have challenged her to that race..."

Ren placed his hand on Kukai's shoulder. "Don't blame yourself. There's nothing we could have done."

"That's true but aren't you taking this a bit too lightly?" Rima looked at Ren, not in an accusing manner.

"What a happy-go-lucky person..." Nagihiko sighed.

"I'm just optimistic, I guess. I don't see a reason why I should use myself as my own punching bag," Ren said.

"Huh," Rima briefly replied. After a few moments of silence she couldn't hold it in anymore. "So what do you think about Amu?"

If Nagihiko and Kukai were drinking right now they would have spitted it all out in surprise. The question just flew out of her at the most random of times and though they had been wondering how Ren felt about Amu, they had been able to suppress the question from being asked.

Ren wasn't particularly surprised. He probably saw it coming. "What do I think..." his voice trailed off. "She's my sister."

"So does that mean you don't like her?" Rima pushed further. It wasn't that she was looking for gossip material or anything like that. Amu was her best friend and she genuinely cared for her. If the time came when she would have to break it to Amu that Ren isn't the man for her, she would do it. Even if that meant Amu would hate her for it.

Ren sighed. "I don't know..."

As they were about ten feet away from the shack, Rima dropped the topic for now. Finding Utau (and Tadase) was more important.

"Shall we go in?" Nagihiko led the way and went in to the shack. "Whoa-!"

"Nagihiko wha-!" Kukai's voice broke off as well.

"Nagi!" Rima called out to him without taking a step forward. She was worried now. What was going on?

"I'm here!" Nagihiko called out from a distance. "There's a hole in front of you so be careful! There's a tunnel so I'm guessing Utau also fell here!" Silence. Then suddenly it's like he remembered something so he said, "Don't even think about jumping down here, Rima."

Rima had lifted one foot and was readying herself but when Nagihiko said otherwise, she placed her foot back down. She was, in all honesty, scared but being up there alone (she forgot about Ren whose presence to her was a total zero) was pretty scary too.

The distant voice of Kukai calling out to Utau could be heard from where Rima and Ren were standing, just by the entrance of the shack.

"We'll go look for Tadase," Ren told the two who were down below, to Rima's surprise. "I'll make sure Rima-chan is safe."

Nagihiko hesitated but it's not like he could ask Rima to stay with him. Ren... he barely knows him. It's not like Ren is a suspicious guy though, right? He's Amu's brother after all. "... Be careful, Rima. I'll see you soon."

"I will." Rima gulped then walked away from the shack with Ren.

Nagihiko could hear their footsteps fade away so he focused on his predicament right now. He figured he should find Utau first and in the meantime consider a way out.

"Come on, Kukai. Let's find Utau."

Kukai nodded but it was dark so Nagihiko didn't see it. His eyes weren't yet accustomed to the pitch black environment. Even though there should still be a little bit of light from the setting sun outside. Kukai kept calling out to Utau, hoping for a reply.

"She couldn't have gone too far," Kukai said.

Nagihiko tried to guess where Kukai was and looked that direction. "We'll find her, don't worry."

Nagihiko been feeling the wall ever since they started walking to get a sense of where they were headed, whether they were turning or going a straight line, but just then he felt the wall end.

"Kukai, there's a way to the left here, we should stick together," Nagihiko said, praying that Kukai hadn't taken his own direction. "Kukai?"

"Yeah. I heard you." Then Kukai's footsteps stopped. "Wait."

A few moments later they could hear a voice. Kukai smiled as he recognized it, relieved. Then he and Nagihiko burst into laughter. It was obviously Utau's voice but she was cursing and stifling back tears.

"Utau!" Kukai called out. "Stay where you are! It's me!"

Nagihiko was relieved to have found Utau as well, but he hadn't thought of a way out. At least one task was down. There was something weird though. Utau didn't respond to Kukai but that was definitely her voice. So he tried calling her out too. Maybe she couldn't hear them, but that would mean that she was talking to someone. Or something.

Kukai called out to her even louder. "If you hear me, say something in return, woman!" He noticed what Nagihiko had noticed as well. She wasn't alone.

"-Kai!" Utau's echo reached their ears. "Look, yo- Kukai worr-" From where Nagihiko and Kukai were standing, they couldn't hear what she was saying clearly. She must still be quite a distance away.

"The direction seems to be coming from that way," Kukai said, pointing to his right. I wonder if by some miracle, she's with Tadase.

Nagihiko and Kukai walked over to where Utau's voice could be heard. They got closer and closer and then there she was, still in her swimsuit with her hair wet and her beautiful face with a wide smile.

"Kukai!" Utau waved at him. "Thank god, I thought I was going to die. Luckily it wasn't some creepy stalker or anything, but then again he is a creep."

"Who is?" Nagihiko asked.

"Yo." Ikuto walked closer toward them. "You guys had a sleepover at the villa and you didn't invite me?"

Kukai scoffed. "You're not welcome here."

After a few moments of awkward silence, Kukai continued. "I was joking. We're fine already. You guys need to relax."

Nagihiko felt out of place there. He wished Rima was here. She would have some smart retort because that's just the way Rima was built. Hopefully Rima was fine out there.

"Ikuto, do you know the way out?" Nagihiko asked. Priorities.

"Yeah, of course. I actually saw Tadase just now. He was carrying a ball alone. Is he lonely or something?"

"Uhh no," Nagihiko sighed. At least Tadase was safe. "By all means, lead the way so we can head back."

"You really got me worried." Kukai looked at Utau. "Why'd you suddenly disappear like that?"

"It was the scent. Ikuto's scent. It was familiar so I tried to figure it out and I fell through the hole as I got closer."

"Scent? What are you, a puppy?" Kukai smirked.

Utau blushed. "Anyway! I woke up and it was pitch black. Then I tried to find a way out and somehow Ikuto was here."

"She was crying." Ikuto laughed.

"I was not!"

"I'm here now." He then gave her a quick kiss. Something like a habit.

"... Idiot." Utau said.

-End of chapter 5

A/N: I won't be writing the story much longer :) Maybe two more chapters and that's it, guys. Sorry, it's just I'm focusing on a different project right now so I'm afraid if I continue it, it'll just drag on and get boring.

Thank you so much for reading this story.

**Tadase: So now you're taking it out on me?**

**Syd Nichs: Deal with it.**

**Rima, Nagihiko, Utau, and Kukai: I'm so glad she doesn't dislike me.**


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